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Taiwan has never declared independance purely for not wishing to 'offend' mainland China ....

However, they [Taiwan] are a fully fledged, independant democracy, and as such deserve the acknowledgment of the rest of the world [democracies, that is as I don't suppose that the likes of those power houses of Cuba, North Korea, Libya, Zimbabwe etc will give a toss one way or another. ]

The US has sworn to protect Taiwan and will go to war with China.

When parleying with the Chinese, it is essential that you make unequivical statements, otherwise they will twist it to their own ends.

Although the USA does keep its promises, it is to be hoped that mainland China stops acting like a jerk-off, and grows into the capatalist society it is attempting to mimic right now.

55 - I'm fiftyfeckinfive and STILL no wiser,
OLDER yes
Beware of Geeks bearing GIF's
come and waste the day :P at The Taz Zone

Time we started making our own keyboards, mice and domestic appliances folks?

Or just nuke the buggers out?

If you cannot do someone any good: don't do them any harm....
As long as you did this to one of these, the least of my little ones............you did it unto Me.
What profiteth a man if he gains the entire World at the expense of his immortal soul?

I don't believe declaring independence is an option at the moment. China has threatened to invade if they do and the US has said it would defend. The US is in no position to go to war with China and I don't think really wants to, thus Taiwan can do nothing. On the other hand, I can't see why China would want to wage war with the US given that it is its single largest importer and China is well on the way to becoming a financial super-power (Wal Mart consumes something approaching ten percent of all China's exports, I believe). So all the talk and threats are just sound and fury. No one can move.

What Taiwan gives the US is a point of contention it can use to hold China in check. The fact that it is Taiwan is almost irrelevant. There are overtones of Communism vs. Democracy but this is nothing more than dressing. Real independence works against American interest, which is in China, not Taiwan.

The USA was allied with China in WWII to defeat the Japanese
invasion. In fact, defense of China is the main reason the USA
wound up at war with Japan. But that's a long story.

In about 1949 (correct me if I'm wrong), the Chinese gov't was
overthrown by the communists. They fled to Taiwan, and the
USA recognized the Taiwan regime as the Republic of China
in exile.

In about 1972, Nixon established diplomatic relations with
the mainland regime, thus de-legitimizing Taiwan. Not only
was Taiwan no longer the rightful gov't of China, as they had
once claimed, but they weren't even a sovereign nation.

If I remember correctly, Nixon agreed, in principle, that Taiwan
would eventually be returned to Chinese rule. I guess he hoped it wouldn't
actually be carried out in his lifetime.

Nixon is dead and gone, and China is getting impatient to reunite
Taiwan with the People's Republic. I don't see where the USA could say squat
about it since we agreed over thirty years ago that it would "eventually come
to pass.

War with China would be a catastrophe. We need them as allies against Islam.

I think Taiwan should look more into petitioning the UN than the US. Even though they don't have a seat, I think if they pushed for one they'd get it. That would be enough pseudo-recognition as an indepedant country to get them where they want to be.